Piano



Feb. 12, 1935. F A, wEssE-LL 1,990,764

lvPIANO Filed Sept.V 3, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q A WITNESS F. A. wEss'ELL1,990,764

PIANO Filed sept. s, 1932 4 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR v @,v/va ffl/555 BYv A A TTORNE YS Feb. l2, 193".

WITNESS "Feb 121,'1935. I F A, WESSELL 1,990,764

PIANO Filed Sept. 3, 1932 4 Shee'r.s-Shee1'I 4 y WITNE SS /N VEA/TOR ,gfv BY f/m/v/o, A14/555ML ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 12, 1935 UNITED STATESPATENT oFFlcE 14 Claims.

The invention relates to pianos and its object is to produce aninstrument of efficient tone quality possessing greattouch-sensitiveness and capacity of repetition of individual notesindependent of the extent of depression of the keys at the moment whenthe note is repeated, all assembled in compact -form to produce anartistic piece of furniture adapted to the limited dimensions of themodern apartment, while at the same time being capable of use in and ofadorning more spacious quarters of large residences.

At the present time there are practically only two types of pianos inuse, the upright and the grand, both bulky in appearance and incapableof artistic development to match modern ideas of interior decoration.

About seventy years ago a type of piano known as the square piano was inextensive use but in about 1880 the making of square pianos came to anend. This was due in large measure to the fact that the interiorarrangement of parts in the square piano was such that for repetition ofany note it was necessary for the key to return fully to its normalposition at rest so that it was impossible to secure the repetitionwhich is characteristic of grand piano actions and which is re- Ysponsible for the universal acceptance of the grand piano as the mosttouch-responsive instrument. A person accustomed to playing a grand oran upright piano finds it exceedingly diilicult for this reason to playone of the old square pianos. Attempts to correct the defect of thesquare piano and to give such a piano a sensitiveness of touch equal tothat of a grand piano proved unavailing with the result that for overfifty years the square piano has been obsolete.

In the instrument of the present invention the casing is of a generallyoblong rectangular shape, the key-board being situated at one of thelonger sides. The strings are positioned horizontally, the base stringsextending from near one of the front corners to an opposite rear cornerregion and having their striking points in the vicinity of the latter.The treble strings extend from the longer rearward side of theinstrument in general diagonal dir :tions toward the front of theinstrument and, in' part, cross a part of the bass strings which lie, ina different plane from that occupied by the treble strings. Thisarrangement not only enables an adequate tone to be produced but at thesame time accommodates all of the strings with the necessary lengththereof for the required tone effect within a compass such as 3 x 5feet. Due to this arrangement of the strings, the striking points of thehammers for the bass strings are arranged as an arc whose projection onthe horizontal line of the key-board is shorterl than the space occupiedby the keys for the bass strings. The key levers, accordingly, for thebass strings, are so shaped that they extend angularly from the rearparts of the keys toward the striking points of the strings.Substantially the same general condition of angularity of key leversback of the parallel keys applies in the case of the treble strings. Thepivots for the key levers are so placed as to obtain together with thecustomary weighting of the individual levers a substantial uniformity ofleverage as between the several key levers taking into considerationthat they are necessarily to a large extent of different lengths andpractically all at a different angular relation with respect to theirassociated key section. A double escapement and repetition grand actionis interposed between the key levers and the hammers and means areprovided whereby notwithstanding the diverse angular relation of theseveral hammers, the actions and the hammer Shanks will be assembled andmaintained in parallel with the slant or angle of the key leverrearwardly of its fulcrum. lMeans are also provided for making itpossible in connection with an instrument of this character andconstruction to make use of a damper of the type which has been found tobe the most satisfactory in grand pianos.

The instrument assembled as described is of small dimensions and iscapable of decorative development so that in appearance it will lookrather like a table or desk than like a piano. n the other hand, whenplayed as a piano, it has a full sonorous tone equal to that of anyordinary up'- right piano and in fact superior in tonal quality l tothat of the upright that of a baby grand.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig.1 is a plan view of the instrument, with parts removed for the sake ofclearness; Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the arrangement of theactions and the hammers controlled thereby; Fig. 3 is an enlargedtransverse section through the treble strings of the piano illustratingthe piano action in detail, together with the associated dampermechanism, approximately along the line 3 -3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a planView on a still larger scale of the bass section and a portion of thetreble section indicating the preferred construction and arrangement ofthe hammer shank rail, the wippen cr repetition rail, and how theactions are associated therewith; Fig. 5 is a detail in plan of parts ofthe mechanism shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 6

piano and approximating is a fragmentary section illustrating certaindetails of the damper mechanism; and Fig. 7 is a plan View of thepedal-controlled damper-operating lever. I

The frame or case of the piano is indicated at 10 and as illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2 is of oblong i form, the frame being supported by legs 11,preferably of ornamental form and design. 'I'he keyboard extends to thefront of the instrument so as to be accessible to the player in thecustomary manner, and consists of individual parallel keys 12 extendingrearwardly into the case 10. The keys 12 are formed from the outerportions of wood members, the remainders of which constitutethekey-levers 12a which in the case of practically all of the levers extendangularly with reference to the parallel key sections 12, as shown inFig. 2. The degree of angularity in the case of each of the key leversdiffers with respect to practically each of the levers, this being dueto the arrangement of the strings to be hereinafter described and thenecessity of having the key levers reach to the region below thestriking point of the several strings. 'The several angularly extendingkey levers are pivoted on the blocks 8 and are slotted to rock on thepins 7 in the customary fashion. As will be seen in Fig. 2, thearrangement of the pins 7 at least Vin the bass section of theinstrument follows in general an arc so positioned with reference to thecapstan screws 13 that the leverage of all the key levers-would remainapproximately the same, notwithstanding the fact that the effective part.of the lever for the lowest of the bass keys is very much shorter thanthat of the higher notes of the bass register. Each key lever is prolvided near the end portion of its angularly extending section with acapstan screw 13, each of which engages a wippen of the type commonlyused in grand pianos, said wippen being shown generally at. 14 (Fig. 3).The aforesaid grand wippens 14 may in general be of any known orsuitable construction and in the form illustrated each comprises asupport 15 having its one end pivoted at 15a to a 11a-nge 16 by which itis fastened to the wippen rail 17 by the screw 6. The support 15 isprovidedl at its opposite end with a grand jack 18 pivoted at 19 to thesupport 15 and having its upper end movably disposed within a slot inthe repetition lever 20. 'Ihe latter is pivoted at 21 upon an uprightstandard 5 forming part of the support 15, and is provided with theusual button 22 carried by an adjusting screw 4 in the known manner, andadapted, by engagement with the support 15, to limit the pivotalmovement of the repetition lever 20 in one direction. The customarygrand lever spring arrangement whereby the repetition lever 20 ismaintained in and'retur-ned to its normal pcsition .is shown at 23,while the usual repetition hook for arresting the pivotal movement ofthe repetition lever 20 in the opposite direction is illustrated at 20e.The conventional grand jack spring and regulating screw button andpunching are included in each grand wippen, together with the grandspoon mounted on the support 15 for engagement by the aforesaid punchingin the usual mannerzfor the usual purposes.

It will be noted in Fig. 3 that the capstan screw 13 of each key 12engages a projection 15b de pending from each support 15 and located inrelative proximity to the pivot 19'and at a relatively larger distancefrom the pivot 15a. In other` words the points at which the capstanscrews 13 engage the grand wippens are much nearer one end of thesupports 15 than the other ends thereof. This arrangement f' wasnecessitated by the fact that the key levers, due to the arrangement ofthe strings in the casing, are of limited dimensions and therefore wouldhave an undue load to overcome in the playing of the piano, if theprojection 15b (and the capstan screws 13) were located, as in ordinarygrand wippens, near the central part of the support l5. This feature ofthe new piano provides a greater leverage between the keys 12 and thegrand wippens 14, makes the keys less hard to depress in striking thenotes, gives greater throw the combination of the two features (1) of along leverage on the wippen and (2) a short leverage from the key leverfulcrum to the capstan screws.

As shown in Fig. 3 the repetition lever 20 in each grand wippen 14engages a felt-covered roll 24 connected with the shank 25 of the hammer26. Each of the Shanks 25 is pivotally connected with a iiange 27 whichin turn is secured to its respective hammer rail 28 or 28a. In thepreferred arrangement, each ange 27 is fastened to the hammer rail 28 or28a by means of a single screw 29 so that in assembling the action thehammers 26 may be individually adjusted into exact registry with thecooperating grand wippens 14, it being understood that `the screws 29are vaccurately positioned with respect to the grand wippens 14 topermit these results to be attained. In their normal positions thehammer shanks 25 are supported from'24 with their hammer ends restingslightly above the hammer rest rails 30 which are supported in thecustomary manner upon the wippen rails 17 and 17a. The latter and thehammer rails 28 and 28, are carried by brackets 31 mounted on a baseframe J9 in the case 10, said brackets also serving to support theconventional regulating rail 32 for cooperation with the grand jack 18in the well As shown in Fig. 2 the arrangement comprises l wippen rails17 and 17a, and hammer rails 28 and 28a carried by the supportingbrackets 31. The rails 17a and 28fa are inclined relatively to the majoraxis-of the case 10. These rails 17B and 28a carry the grand wippens 14and hammers 26 in two groups (see Fig, 2) for cooperation with therespective groups 34, 35, and 36 of treble strings illustrated in Fig.l. The arrangement further includes a curved Wippen rail 17 and anassociated curved hammer rail 28, supported upon two brackets 31 asshown in Figs. 2 and 4. The arrangement of the curved rails 17 and 28 issuch that they constitute substantially independent continuations of thestraight rails 17E and 28B. the relative positions of the curved rails17 and 28 being such that they converge toward each other in a directionaway from the straight rails 17e and 28S. The curved rails 17 and 28carry the ,wippens and hammers which cooperate with the is preferablyprovided along its outer edge with a series of steps 17b which increasegradually in depth from the inner end of said rail 17 to the outer endthereof; these steps 17b constitute bearing positioning and attachingsurfaces for the iianges 16 of the grand Wippens 14 and enable thelatter to be grouped in accurately positioned relation to the severalkey levers 12a and to define the position which the several hammershanks 25 shall occupy in the assembly. Preferably, the straight wippenrail 17n is also provided with stepped recesses of a similar characterand for a similar purpose.

These steps or notches 17b are preferably so cut that their lateralfaces will be in line with the directions of the angular parts of thekey levers 12' extending beyond the pivots 7, the balance of each notchrepresenting a seating surface for the flanges 16 of the actions, saidseating surface being in each case arranged at right angles to thelateral surface of the notch or in any event at right angles to thedirections of the several key levers 12a so that said seat-ing surfaceswith respect to each successive notch will depart constantly fromparallelism with each other and with the longitudinal axis of theinstrument always, however, to the same extent that the key leversdepart from rectangular relation with respect to said axis. The lateralfaces of the notches need not necessarily have the described relationwith respect to the key levers but it is preferable that they should bearranged in such relation as it aids in conveniently positioning theflanges 16. The'notches are preferably placed on the vertical rear sideof the wippen rail, but they may also be placed on one of the horizontalsides of such rail, in which case, for example, the wippen rail mightextend a little further back in the instrument and the flange 16 beattached upon the upper surface and similarly, if the notches were cuton the under surface of the Wippen rail, the flange 16 might take theformv of an angle piece screwed to the bottom of the rail. The positionsof the pivots for the wippen support 15 will in any such case, however,always remain the same.

If the Wippen rails 17-17a are notched in such a manner as to properlyautomatically position the Wippens with relation to the key levers,notches `for positioning the hammer shank flanges 27 in their properrelative positions are not necessary, so thatin the preferredconstruction any special notching of the hammer rails 28, 28a isdispensed with. The rails 28, 28a are, however, preferably tapped inadvance to receive the screws 29 at the proper point with relation tothe registry of the key levers and the hammer shank anges.

Obviously other position-defining means than notches adapted toaccomplish an equivalent effect may be used in place of such notcheswithout departing from the scope of the invention and the notches in thewippen rails 17 and 1'?a may even be dispensedwith altogether, in whichevent the structure will appear as shown in Fig. 2. In such aconstruction each of the Wippens and the hammer shanks is secured onitsk respective rail by means of a screw and Without the use of aposition-defining means and may still, without unreasonableinconvenience, be properly positioned by the mechanic by using his eye`to establish alignment of each with its associated key lever beforetightening the screw.

The arrangement adapted in the new instrument makes it possible to haveall the Wippens of uniform dimensions and all the hammer shanks andflanges of the same length, which feature is, of course, of extremeimportance in connection with the making of the several parts, since itwould prove altogether too complicated and expensive to make and toinstall special wippens or yhammer shanks for each of the several keys.

The strings are all mounted upon the metal or string frame 38 by meansof the conventional pegs 39 and tuning pins 40, the treble strings ofthe groups 34 and 35 converging toward each other from the associatedpegs 39 to the cooperating tuning pins 40 in constantly varying degreesof inclination to the case l0, While the treble strings of the group 36extend at approximately right angles to the major axis of said case l innot quite but generally parallel relation to each other. The group 37 ofbass strings, on the other hand, extends lengthwise of the case ininclined relation to the major axis thereof from one of the front cornerportions of the instrument to a diagonally opposed corner portion and soas to converge toward each other from the cooperating tuning pins 40 tothe associated pegs 39, as shown in Fig. l. The string frame 38 issuitably apertured to permit the hammers 26 to engage the cooperatingstrings, and carries the sounding board 41 which, as illustrated in Fig.3, is located beneath said frame 38 and secured in place in anyconvenient manner. The string frame 38 is supported in the case 10 uponsuitable rails 42 and is fastened in position by screws or the like'43(Fig. l).

In addition to the parts so far described, the novel piano includesdamper mechanism which corresponds in dimensions and effectsubstantially to the corresponding mechanism of grand pianos. Thismechanism comprises the usual footoperated pedal means which may be ofany conventional type and accordingly has been omitted from thedrawings; the aforesaid pedal means is operatively connected with thelifter rod 44 which is vertically guided in an apertured guide meinber45 and at its upper end carries an adjustable head 46 adapted to engagethe one end of a damper-operating member 47 as shown in Fig. 3. Themember 47 is of substantially U-form and is pivotally mounted inbearings 48 depending from the bottom of the case l() and maintained inand returned to its normal position by means of a leaf spring 49 securedto the bottom of said case 10. The shorter arm of the damper-operatingmember 47 is in engagement with the lower end of a member 50 slidablymounted for vertical movement in the bottom of the casing 10 and havingits upper end in contact with the damper rail 51; the latter` is carriedby members 52 pivotally connected with lugs 53 (Fig. 6) projectingupwardly from a rail 54 suitably mounted in the case 10, as Will be morefuly set forth hereinafter, the

arrangement being such that the damper rail 51 is pivotally l'movable invertical directions by the action of the aforesaid pedal means andassociated elements. The damper rail 51 carries regulating button screws55 of conventional ty e arranged to engage damper levers 56 pivoted at57 upon flanges 58 fastened in proper positions on the rail 54 by meansof screws 59 or their equivalent, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Thecustomary stop rail 561 depends from the adjacent rail 42 for arrestingthe upward movements of the damper rail levers 56 when any one or theentire set of levers 56 abut against the rail 56a. At their free endsthe damper levers 56 are each provided with a flange 60 pivoted at 61and carrying the lifter wire 62 adjustably fixed in place by means of aset screw 63; each lifter wire 62 is guided for vertical movement in anapertured guide plate 64 fastened to and projecting inwardly beyond theadjacent rail 42, and at its upper end carries a damper 65 ofconventional type adapted to engage the associated piano string orstrings from above in a manner corresponding to the damper arrangementof a grand piano. In order to raiseA the dampers 65 to permit thedesired vibration of the piano strings when the keys 12 are actu ated inthe playing of the instrument, each damper lever 56 is provided with aspoon 66 so arranged as to project over and into the path of movement oftheinner end of the associated key lever 12a, as illustrated in Fig. 6.In the preferred arrangement each key lever 12a carries a felt orsimilar pad 67 for contact with the spoon 66 of its cooperating damperlever 56. As is clearly shown in Fig. 2, the rail 54 is fixed in thecase 10 at an inclination to the rear wall thereof and extendsthroughout the area occupied by the piano strings which are intended tobe acted upon by the dampers 65; the latter are of conventional formdesigned for cooperation with the respective bass and treble strings inthe manner common to grand pianos. To condense the arrangement into thesmallest possible area and to provide a construction of maximumcompactness and efliciency, the damper levers 56 of suitable dimensionsare straight throughout and are located in spaced parallel relation asillustrated in Fig. 2. In order to effect the proper association'withthe respective keys 12 the'spoons 66 are positioned to project from theindividual damper levers 56 in several different `ways. As shown in Fig.2.some of the spoons 66 accordingly extend straight from the levers 56,while others project therefrom at varying angles relatively to saidlevers 56. In any case the arrangement is such as to bringeach spoon 66into a position to be engaged by the key levers 12a with which theparticular damper 65 is associated.

To facilitate the removal of the action from the case 10, all parts ofsaid action are mounted upon a base board 9, which is removably securedin said casing in any convenient manner so that by moving the base boardout of the casing the entire action will become readily accessible. Inthat connection the notch arrangement 17b of the wippen rail is also ofadvantage, since it enables the mechanic to repair and remove and toreplace `each wippen with the greatest ease Without requiring anydisturbance of the 'hammer shank flanges.

With the novel arrangement and construction illlustrated in the drawingsand described in the specification, it is possible to provide a piano ofthe square type, which is relatively small in size and yet possesses allof the advantages of a rapid and responsive key action and high tonalquality of a standard grand piano. The technique required in the playingof practically all modern music is accordingly capable of beingexercised to the fullest extent and to the best possible advantage inthe new piano. In the arrangement as set forth hereinbefore, the stringsare engaged by the hammers at those points which produce the bestvibration of said strings. The responsiveness of the action to theoperation of the keys is also enhanced by having the points ofengagement between the key levers and the grand wippens positioned ashereinabove described, at a greater distance from the pivots on whichsaid wippens swing than heretofore. The wippens are all alike andinterchangeable. The curves of the wippen rail 17 and the curved hammerrail 28 are respectively of such radii and so located relatively to eachother as to converge in one direction, which enables the hammer Shanksand anges all tov be of the same length, thus materially simplifying theconstruction and assembling of the instrument. The stepped formation ofthe curved wippen rail 17 also contributes to this factor, and thesingle screw attachment of each ange 27 to the hammer rails 28 and 28aenables the hammers to be adjusted into exact alignment with theassociated wippens. The arrangement is furthermore such that theindividual wippens are easily removable by simply removing the screws,whereby the flanges 16 are fastened to the wippen rails 17. In the novelpiano the dampers are all located in a regular arrangement, which isimportant to the most eiiicient results and is made possible by thelocation of the rail 54 and the position of the spoons 66 on the damperlevers 56.

Various changes in the specific forms shown and described may be madewithin the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I am aware that the general type of action used by me in the combinationwhich makes up the new instrument has been heretofore used in connectionwith grand pianos but in grand pianos the actions were all aligned andparallel and located at the same distance from the keys so that thequestion of using such actions in this way in a grand piano presented nodifficulties, but it has always been regarded as impossible to embodyactions of this character in pianos where the strings were arranged inthe manner characteristic of the bass string section, for example, of asquare piano. I have, however, succeeded by the described organizationin not only demonstrating that it was possible at all to bring aboutsuch a combination, but in finding how it could be done in a thoroughlypractical and commercial Way. The effect of the present invention is tointroduce to the market at a time when the public demand for existingpianos is at its lowest point a new instrument of such attractiveness,compactness, volume, tone quality, and sensitiveness to touch as tocompel immediate recognition and to create a new demand. Y

I claim:

l. In a plano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a set of double escapement and repetition grand actions and akeyboard arranged along a longer side and operatively connected to saidactions, said piano having strings arranged in a plurality of groups,one of said groups comprising treble strings arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane extending from the side opposite the keyboard at leastin part fanwise towards the keys,and another of said groups comprisingbass strings arranged in a different horizontal plane from those of thefirst group and extending fanwise from a front corner of the casediagonally rearwardly.

2. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a set of'double escapement and repetition grand actions 'and avkeyboard arranged along a longer side and operatively connected to saidactions, said piano having strings arranged in a plurality of groups,one of said groups comprising treble strings arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane extending from an end portion ofthe side opposite thekeyboard at least in part fanwise towards the keys,

and another of said groups comprising bass strings arranged in adifferent horizontal plane from those of the first group extending fromthe front corner at the same end at which the ends of the strings of theiirst group are secured diagonally rearwardly in a fanwise manner.

3. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a keyboard arranged along a longer side, and operativelyconnected to a double escapement and repetition grand action, said pianohaving strings arranged in a plurality of groups, one of whichconstitutes a treble group arranged substantially parallel to theshorter dimension of the casing, a second of which is arranged fanwisetowards the keys, and a third of which is arranged in a different planefanwise from a front corner of the casing diagonally rearwardly.

4. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing, akeyboard of parallel keys arranged along a longer side of said casing,key levers associated with the keys and extending in major part at anangle from the keys, the said angles of the several levers being to alarge extent different from each other, said piano having stringsarranged in a plurality of groups, one of said groups comprising treblestrings arranged in a. substantially horizontal plane extending from thesidec opposite the keyboard at least in part fanwise towards the keys,and another of said groups comprising bass strings arranged in adifferent horizontal plane from those of the first group and extendingfanwise from a front corner of the case diagonally rearwardly, a set ofdouble escapement and repetition grand actions for said strings, andmeans for supporting the major part of said actions in slanted positionwith reference to the keys and all of them in parallel with the slant orangle of their associated key levers.

5. A piano such as set forth in claim 4 in which dampers are providedfor the bass and at least part of the treble strings, actuating meansfor said dampers arranged in parallelism with each other andconsequently out of alignment with the angles of the key levers, andmembers projecting from the ends of the actuating means nearest thedampers and extending toward a position where they control the dampers,said extensions being generally non-parallel to each other.

6. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a keyboard arranged along a longer side of said casing, a stringframe having strings arranged thereon in a plurality of groups, one ofsaid groups comprising treble strings arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane extending from the side opposite the keyboard at leastin part fanwise towards the keys, and another of said groups comprisingbass strings arranged in a diilerent horizontal plane from those of thefirst group and extending fanwise from a front corner of the casediagonally rearwardly, a relatively straight wippen rail arrangedlengthwise of said casing, an associated relatively straight hammer railin spaced parallel relation thereto, a curved Wippen rail extending awayfrom one end of the straight wippen rail, an associated curved hammerrail in spaced converging relation to the curved wippen rail, doubleescapernent and repetition wippens all of the same size pivotallysecured to said wippen rails, means operatively connecting said wippenswith said keys, and cooperating hammers secured to said hammer rails andhaving Shanks all of the same length.

7. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing, akeyboard of parallel keys arranged along a longer side of said casing,key levers associated with the keys and extending in major part at anangle from the keys, the said angles of the several levers being to alarge extent diierent from each other, said piano having stringsarranged in a plurality of groups, one of said groups comprising treblestrings arranged in a substantially horizontal plane extending from theside opposite the keyboard at least in part fanwise towards the keys,and another of said groups comprising bass strings arranged in adifferent horizontal plane from those of the rst group and extendingfanwise lfrom a front corner of the case diagonally rearwardly, a set ofdouble escapement and repetition grand action wippens, means forsupporting the major part of said wippens in slanted position ,withreference to the keys and all of them in parallel with the slant orangle of their associated key levers, said means comprising a notchedwippen rail, means pivotal- 1y supporting the several wippens seated inthe notches of said wippen rail, the seating faces of said notchesextending in constant departure from parallelism with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the instrument to the same extent that the keylevers depart from rectangular relation with respect to said axis, anassociated hammer rail, and cooperating hammers secured to said hammerrail.

8. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing, akeyboard of parallel keys arranged along a longer side of said casing,key levers associated with the keys and extending in major part at anangle from the keys, the said angles of the several levers being to alarge extent different from each other, said piano having stringsarranged in a plurality of groups, one of said groups comprising treblestrings arranged in a substantially horizontal plane extending from theside opposite the keyboard at least in part fanwise towards the keys,and another of said groups comprising bass strings arranged in adiierent horizontal plane from those of the first group and extendingfanwise from a front corner of the case diagonally rearwardly, a set ofdouble escapement and repetition grand action wippens, means forsupporting the major part of said wippens in slanted position withreference to the keys and all of them in parallel with the slant orangle of their associated key levers, said means comprising a notchedwippen rail, the notches of which consist of lateral faces in alignmentwith the several angles of the key levers and of seating faces at rightangles to the lateral surfaces, said seating faces extending in constantdeparture from parallelism with respect to the longitudinal axis of theinstrument to the same extent that the key levers depart fromrectangular relation with respect to said axis, means pivotallysupporting the several wippens mounted on said seating faces, anassociated hammer rail, and cooperating harnmers' secured to saidhammerrail.

9. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a keyboard arranged along a longer side of said casing, a stringframe having strings arranged thereon in a plurality of groups, one ofsaid groups comprising treble strings arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane extending from the side opposite the keyboard at leastin part fanwise towards the keys, and another of said groups comprisingbase strings arranged in a. different horizontal plane from those of therst group and extending fanwise from a front corner of the casediagonally rearwardly, a relatively straight Wippen rail, an associatedrelatively straight hammer rail in spaced parallel relation thereto, acurved wippen rail extending away from one end of the straight wippenrail, an associated curved hammer shankl rail in spaced convergingrelation to the curved wippen rail, double escapement and repetitionwippens pivotally secured to said wippen rails, cooperating hammerssecured to said hammer shank rails and having shanks all of the samelength, key levers `operatively associated with said wippens, said keylevers being in theA major part n non-parallel relation, a rail locatedin an oblique position in said case, straight damper levers pivotallysecured to said rail in spaced parallel relation to each other,V damperscarried by said damper levers adapted to engage predetermined strings,and spoons carried by said damper levers and projecting in varyingdirections therefrom to operatively connect said non-parallel key leverswith said parallel damper levers.

10. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a keyboard arranged along a longer side of said casing, a stringframe having strings arranged thereon in a plurality of groups, one ofsaid groups comprising treble strings arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane extending from the side opposite the keyboard at leastin part fanwise towards the keys, and another ofV said groups comprisingbass strings arranged in a different horizontal plane from those of thefirst group and extending fanwise from a front corner of the casediagonally rearwardly, a curved wippen rail for said bass strings havingits outer edge provided with steps, an associated curved hammer shankrail in spaced converging relation to the curved wippen rail, doubleescapement and repetition wippens pivotally mounted on thestepped edgeof said wippen rail, hammers secured to said hammer shank rail andpivotally adjustable relatively thereto, key levers connected with saidwippens at points in proximity to the free ends thereof for operatingsaid wippens and hammers, a rail located at the rear of said case,damper levers pivotally mounted on said rail and extending in spacedrparallel relation toward said wippen rail in varying relation to theassociated key levers, dampers carried by said damper levers andengaging said bass stringsfrom above and spoons projecting from saiddamper levers in varying directions above and into registry with theassociated key levers.

11. A piano such as set forth in claim 10 in which the rail on which thedamper levers are mounted extends in oblique relation to the rear wallof the piano case and all of the damper levers are arranged at rightangles with respect to said rail.

` 12. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a keyboard arranged along a. longer side thereof, a string framemounted in said casing in a substantially horizontal position, groups oftreble strings on said frame arranged substantially parallel to theshorter dimension of the casing, additional groups of treble strings onsaid frame arranged fanwise towards the keys, a group of bass strings onsaid frame arranged in a diierent horizontal plane from said treblestrings and extending fanwise from a front corner of the casingdiagonally rearwardly, a straight wippen rail extending transversely tosaid treble strings, an associated straight hammer shank rail in spacedparallel relation thereto, a curved wippen rail contiguousto the one endof said straight wippen rail and extending transversely to said bassstrings, a curved hammer shank rail contiguous to the one end of saidstraight hammer shank rail and in spaced convergingrelation to saidcurved wippen rail, said rails all extending lengthwise of said case,double escapement and repetition wippens pivotally mounted on saidstraight wippen rail and said curved wippen rail, hammers having shanksall of the same length pivotally mounted on said straight hammer shankrail and said curved hammer shank rail in operative relation to therespective wippens, said wippens and hammers extending transversely tothe major axis of said case, and key levers extending transversely ofsaid case in non-parallel relation and operatively connecting saidwippens to the keyboard.

13. In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing and'having a keyboard of parallel keys arranged along a longer side of saidcasing, a string frame having strings arranged thereon in a plurality ofgroups, one of said groups comprising treble strings arranged in asubstantially horizontal plane extending from theside opposite thekeyboard at least in part fanwise towards the keys, and another of saidlgroups comprising bass strings arranged in a different horizontal planefrom those of the i-lrst group and extending fanwise from a front cornerof the case diagonally rearwardly, a set of double escapement andrepetition wippens for said strings, each of said wippens comprising asupport pivotally mounted at one end on a wippen rail, and provided atits other end with a grand jack, an upright standard mounted on Saidsupport intermediate the ends thereof for pivotally supporting arepetition lever, and a projection depending from said support andlocated intermediate said grand jack and said'upright standard andnearer the former than the latter, key levers associated with said keys,and capstan screws provided on said key levers for operatively engagingwith the projections on said wippens.

14.' In a piano having an oblong substantially rectangular casing andhaving a keyboard of parallel keys arranged along a longer side of saidcasing, said piano having strings arranged in a plurality of. groups,one of said groups comprising treble strings arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane extending from vthe side oppoing fanwise from a frontcorner of the case diagonally rearwardly, a set of doublev escapementand repetition grand actions for said strings, key levers associatedwith said keys and extending in major part at an angle from the keys,means for supporting said grand actions in parallel with the slant orangle of their associated key levers, capstan screws provided on saidkey levers for engaging said grand actions, the major part of saidcapstan screws being variably distanced from said keyboard, and meansfor pivotally supporting said key levers, the fulcrums of said keylevers being so positioned relative to their associated capstan screwsas to obtain a substantial uniformity of leverage `as between theseveral key levers.

FERNANDO A. WESSELL.

